Conventional arrows rely primarily on the arrow tip to cut into a target, penetrate it, and exit it, with no consideration that the arrow or arrows themselves can be integral cutting devices. These conventional arrows generally include an arrow shaft having interchangeable arrow heads. Generally, arrow head designs have been limited to small broad heads designed for improved flight, and a one size cutting angle and resulting cutting diameter of the tip. If it is a mechanical device, it often will rely on its ability to open in a relatively short timeframe because the blades are located close to the initial point of contact of the target. Moreover, relative densities at the point of impact can vary greatly (e.g., initial contact with an animal can strike soft tissue or dense bone). Conventional designs typically fall short in accounting for these considerations which can, as a result, affect their reliability. The impact surface further affects the ability of the mechanical blades and related mechanisms to deploy efficiently. With this loss of efficiency, the mechanical tip of a conventional arrowhead can absorb a disproportionate amount of kinetic energy which otherwise could have been transferred to the target. Additionally, it is difficult to design a tip that opens inside the target to most effectively damage vital organs.
Being confined to a tip, conventional designs are limited by their overall weight and length due to various competing design considerations. For example, because the tip of an arrow is located at the front of an arrow, it must be located forward of the arrow rest and the bow handle and, therefore, it is desirable to keep the weight of the arrowhead relatively low, and the length of the arrowhead, relatively short. Because of these constraints, the arrowhead design must include relatively short blades so that the arrow's flight path and speed is not adversely affected. As such, conventional arrowheads are limited in length and weight thus precluding them from enclosing large blades that are needed for high-speed bow and cross bows, and further limiting their options for properly spacing a combination of a fixed-type design with a mechanical-type design. Finally, conventional tips are often limited to a single type of a device and cannot accommodate the weight necessary to accommodate a totally integrated solution.
Further, there has been little design variation, even with the development of modern high speed and compound bows, spear guns, and cross bows. Existing designs do not provide the ability for the archer to adjust the blade angle on the arrow heads to compensate for variable for bow poundage, or for specific target game. In addition, most current arrow head designs do not provide for a change of blade angles at the time of target penetration to optimize arrow performance for target having different densities.
Additionally, the safety of drawing an arrow and firing an arrow has not been addressed to protect the archer's hand and arm. Conventional arrow rests have been one dimensional only, holding the arrow at one point of time and place. The critical space between the string and bow handle, commonly called the “brace height,” is left open by conventional arrow rests so that the archer is unprotected in that space. Moreover, conventional known arrow heads generally have blades that are fixed in open positions, and lack a safety locking system in place to constrain the blades in a closed position during the draw and fire cycle.
Modern bows, spear guns and crossbows today have reached levels of speed and kinetic energy that were not available years ago. The kinetic energy of the arrow in flight has almost doubled. Many modern arrows are designed to enable “pass through” shots, where the arrow completely passes quickly through the target. Because the arrow continues moving through and beyond the target, the arrow does not deliver 100% of its kinetic energy to the target. Any kinetic energy not delivered to the target is wasted.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a hunting arrow that deploys maximum kinetic energy on the target. Such a design could include a device that delivers the ballistics of first fracturing the surface of a target and secondary devices that open internal to the target or at some distance from impact within the target.
Moreover, such a design may include an arrow that deploys the proper number of blades at the proper blade angle, or that deploys multiple blades based on the density of the target at the point of impact. Such a design may also include a safety system that locks deployable blades or multiple arrow shafts into place during the draw and fire cycle, as well as an arrow rest and/or bow bracket that protects the arm and hand of an archer during the draw and fire cycle.